Afrikaans word originally used for the irregular units which made up the Boer army in the Boer Wars.
First used in the British and Commonwealth forces with its present meaning, small specialist infantry units trained for combined arms operations, particularly small scale actions in enemy-dominated areas, during the Second World War. The first Commando units were part of either the British Army or the Royal Marines, and first fought in high-profile raids on the occupied French coast, mainly sabotaging important installations and serving as a morale-booster during the lowest moments of the war, and subsequently working as pathfinders and specialist support for major operations such as D-Day. Other small raiding units with different specialisations set up at the time included the SAS (operating in North Africa) and the Chindits (in Burma).
Since the end of World War II the remaining Commando units in the British forces have all been part of the Royal Marines. In organizational terms, "a commando" is a battalion-sized unit - at the time of writing the Marines' 3 Commando Brigade (which is for effective purposes the whole of the RM's fighting force) comprises 40 Commando, 42 Commando and 45 Commando.